Annie & Isabel Celebrates One Year Anniversary & Introduces the "Feel Better Campaign"

Annie & Isabel just celebrated its one year anniversary and, when we think about what we have accomplished over this last year, it really excites us. We received our first batch of gowns on April 9th, 2010 and haven't looked back since. We have been so humbled by the number of companies, mom bloggers, and Annie & Isabel fans who have wanted to spread the news about our company to others. We thank every single one of you because you have helped make us who we are and you have also helped countless women have a much more stylish, comfortable and dignified hospital stay!!

As a one year anniversary present to ourselves, we have given Annie & Isabel a website makeover and are excited to share it with you now here:

ANNIE & ISABEL

We really love it and hope you do too. We want to thank Foss Marketing Group for helping us build a website that we absolutely love! While browsing around the website make sure you scroll over the pics on the homepage and the pics in the shop area. Check back often, too, as we will be continuing to add testimonials to the testimonial section.

We also want to take this time to announce a new and exciting program we are going to launch. This program is extremely important to us because a part of our mission has always been to give back to the community. We have done this from the beginning with our Elizabeth gown by giving back to breast cancer patients. You can read about that HERE.

Our new program is called the "Feel Better Campaign". We have always known that our hospital gowns make wonderful gifts for people who are sick in the hospital. What we didn't realize when starting this business was how hard it would be to not just GIVE people our gowns. Through twitter and facebook we have "met" some wonderful and brave people dealing with difficult diagnoses. Deep down we would love to just give each and every one of these people one of our hospital gowns because we know our hospital gowns provide dignity, comfort and a small sense of control during a time when people feel most vulnerable. We are also both nurses and our instinct is to always help people in need and so when we find out about someone who has to be in the hospital we want so much for them to have one of our hospital gowns because we know it will brighten their stay!!

We have already seen how the gift of one of our hospital gowns to an ill person can bring a smile to a person's face during a difficult time. You can see that here from Kristin, Katie and Beth!! We have always said when you look great, you feel better!! The problem is that if we gave gowns to everyone ill in the hospital then we would quickly be out of business:)

Only days after suffering a cardiac arrest

Hours after open heart surgery

Days after receiving a lung transplant

Annie & Isabel's the "Feel Better Campaign" is a program in which we will give away an Annie & Isabel hospital gown to one deserving person on a semi-annual basis. We want you, our fans, to be involved too!!! We want nominations from people on twitter, facebook and , YOU, our fans!! You just need to email us at wecare@annieandisabel.com and tell us about the person you are nominating and why you think they would love to have one of our hospital gowns.

While we are just announcing this program now, we have already been giving back in this way and we would like to introduce you to the first recipients of Annie & Isabel's the "Feel Better Campaign". The first recipient was Noelle, who is now a breast cancer survivor. She was the first to wear our Elizabeth gown and you can read her story HERE.

Lauren was our second recipient. Lauren is a teenager who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in April of 2010 and is now cancer free. She wore the Isabel designer hospital gown during her treatments. You can read about her HERE.

Beth Peters, who has cystic fibrosis, was our third recipient. We "met" Beth through twitter and, at the time we met her, she was on the transplant list to receive new lungs. When we found out through twitter that she had been called to the hospital for a possible match, we knew we needed to send her our gowns. We couldn't imagine her having to spend so much time in the hospital with those yucky gowns. Beth's sister picked out her Annie & Isabel hospital gowns. She picked the Elizabeth since that is her sister's name and the Annie. She told us she liked the Annie because of the fact that our great-grandmother lived to be 98 years old and she wished that for her sister. How wonderful is that??!! We hope that for Beth too. Beth is doing well with her new lungs and she recently wrote a very nice blog post about us HERE.

Happy anniversary to Annie & Isabel!! We look forward to many more years of providing patients with more stylish, dignified and comfortable hospital stays. We want to thank all our fans as you have greatly helped us to be where we are today and we don't take that for granted. We appreciate each and every one of you!!!!

A Heartwarming Story for the Holidays...A Teenage Star Soccer Player Beats Her Toughest Opponent...Hodgkin's Lymphoma

We'd like to introduce you to Lauren. She is someone who has been in our hearts and prayers over the last year. Lauren is every parent's dream come true. She is wholesome, athletic, intelligent, beautiful and motivated in life. A year ago, Lauren seemed to have a clear path to realizing all her hopes and dreams for the future. For Lauren, those dreams included being part of an exciting soccer season, thinking about college and enjoying her senior year at St. Francis High School in Sacramento, CA.

Nearing the end of Lauren's Junior year of high school, she felt a lump near her collar bone. Her parents took her to the doctor to have it checked out. An ultrasound was ordered and then they waited for the results. I am sure they were thinking there was some simple explanation for the lump, hoping it would be nothing serious. On April 15th, 2010, two days after Lauren's 17th birthday, they received the call that changed their lives. They were told that Lauren had Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Lauren's cancer was found to exist in her lungs, spleen and bones. While this seemed like devastating news, Lauren and her family were told by their oncologist that this cancer was very treatable. Lauren, always trying to keep a good sense of humor and remain strong stated, "Basically my cancer has spread everywhere but my brain and as you may recall from last night's update....I do have a brain."

This was a tough diagnosis for Lauren and her family. It meant that a year which should have been one filled with so much excitement and anticipation would be something very different. Lauren's life would become a maze of doctor appointments, lab tests, chemo infusions and hospital stays. Her days would be full of emotional and physical highs and lows.

Much of Lauren's joy in life had revolved around the sport of soccer. Lauren was the goalie for St. Francis Varsity soccer team as well as a competitive soccer team. Having lymphoma meant that Lauren would surrender her positions and miss her Junior year in soccer, a year when many college coaches scout for the future players. It meant she would give up a part of her independence, something that is so important for teenagers. Having lymphoma meant that the beautiful hair, that framed her face in her senior portraits, would be something that she would lose in the weeks following the beginning of her treatments. Having lymphoma would mean that she took her college SAT exam on a day that she did not feel well. Having lymphoma meant that although she planned and shopped for that perfect dress for the junior prom, when the big day came, she was too sick to attend the event that is the highlight of most girls' junior year. The amazing thing is that, with so many negatives on this list, Lauren decided she was going to fight this battle, hold her head up and BEAT CANCER! "I'm fine" became Lauren's mantra, and, in the end, Lauren has maintained her honor roll status and she is hoping to be able to compete on her beloved soccer teams this year. As for being "just fine".......Lauren truly is...FINE!!!.

In Lauren's own words, "This summer I lost my social life, hair and spot on the team - but I gain so much more." This was her opening statement for her college essay and how amazing is that!!

We were able to follow Lauren on her journey through the beautiful and amazing blog that her mother, Dawn, wrote using "Care Pages". The blog is the story of Lauren, but it is also the story of the faith, love, sorrow and courage of Dawn. Through this blog a community came forward to rally around Lauren and her family and extend to them their prayers, well wishes and also many other tangible demonstrations of their love. You are invited to read Lauren's story. It is an inspiring one, and as you know.....It is always good to read a story with a happy ending!

LAUREN'S STORY

Jesuit High School Friends Getting Ready to Shave Their Heads in Support of Lauren

The Post Shave Look and Lauren is All Smiles!!

Throughout her battle, Lauren wore an Annie and Isabel gown at times and in these last pictures Lauren wears her gown on a hospital visit that marked the official end of her chemotherapy infusions. She is preparing here for the removal of the line that provided access for these infusions. Her mother, Dawn, jotted down her reflections on having a personal hospital gown and wrote in her Care Page blog:

"Lauren sported her Annie & Isabel gown for the "big day" which stirred up a lot of talk among the nurses and surgeon. I joked that the gown got more attention than Lauren. I tried to capture all the comments while I reflected on how much hospital gowns seem to irritate the medical staff. Funny, this whole time I thought it was just the patients who disliked the scratchy, drab green, see-through-thin, and stained hospital attire. Some of the comments I did manage to capture were 'Wow, so soft.' , 'Ties that stay tied.' , 'It snaps on top, brilliant.', 'A pocket, how perfect.' , 'What a great gift.', and my personal favorite........'These gals are really smart!"

"As a parent I loved the gown because you know it's clean, soft and its appearance brightens a very difficult time. Not to mention the patient feels so special!"

Lauren's last chemotherapy infusion was October 18th, 2010 and her latest PET scan shows that she is cancer free!!!

I want to share with you Lauren's words just prior to her last chemo treatment. It is a true testament to Lauren's strength during this process:

"Dear Chemo,

This relationship has gone on far too long. Six months too long. It's been real. But it's over. Tomorrow is the last time we will see each other. Drop my hair off on the porch..."

Lauren, you have been a true inspiration to so many around you. Your strength and positive attitude throughout this journey have been amazing. We continue to keep you in our thoughts and prayers as you begin your adjustment back to being a normal senior high school student. We can't wait to see what the future holds for you as it can only be as great as you already are!!

It's Thanksgiving...We're Working and We Are Thankful!!

Today is Thanksgiving. On this day, it is customary to think of all the things we are thankful for. As nurses, we often must work on holidays and today is one of those days. We are both working this Thanksgiving day, yet we are so very thankful. Here are the many reasons we are thankful:

We are Thankful for our health.....we will see many patients today whose health is a part of their distant past.

We are Thankful that we are not faced with a serious diagnosis.....we will take care of patients today who are newly diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, heart conditions and many other tough illnesses.

We are Thankful that we have a home to live in and food to share.....we will see homeless men and women today who are just looking for someone who will care about them, give them warmth and food.

We are Thankful that our minds are sound and that we, ourselves, are not dealing with a mental illness.....unfortunately mental health funds have been severely cut so many people come to hospitals, instead of mental health facilities, in a time of crisis, often feeling hopeless....we will see some of these people today.

We are Thankful for our parents.....it is very possible we may be helping families say good by to their beloved parents today.

We are Thankful for our healthy children.....today we will take care of sick children who have not always had the gift of health.

We are Thankful for all the health care professionals we collaborate with....we love that we have compassionate nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, physical therapists etc. that work beside us on a daily basis.

We are Thankful that we do not suffer from addictions like alcohol and drugs.....alcohol and drug addiction is a disease and we are often faced with seeing the side affects of these horrible addictions.....we will welcome these poor souls who find their way to us today.

We are Thankful for our loving immediate and extended families who will be waiting for us when we finish our shifts today.....many times we take care of patients that have never been surrounded by the love of family. We will be their family today.

We are Thankful that we have the privilege of working and taking care of people on a day that most would have loved to have spent with family, enjoying some good food and fun family stories. We hope that we can bring some comfort to those who are struggling today.

What are you THANKFUL for???